Android 15’s Notification Cooldown is my new favorite feature

I’m in too many group chats. It’s not a brag or a flex, it’s simply form of a factor that occurs. I often get added to an current group any time I present as much as a brand new run membership, or considered one of my buddies will begin a gaggle chat once we’re making an attempt to plan an even bigger occasion. Though it’s a brilliant easy technique to preserve everybody within the loop on issues, finally, the notifications begin to pile up. Prior to now, that brought about me to succeed in for the mute button early and infrequently, however as of Android 15, I’ve a brand new favourite instrument — the Notification Cooldown. Right here’s what makes this not-quite-a-mute-button so, so good.

Though my finger all the time hovers near the mute button in relation to bigger group chats, I’ve by no means been one to completely silence my telephone. At worst, I can usually ignore the buzzing, however there’s one thing about genuinely silencing a telephone that feels, properly, ultimate. To me, it’s simply too all-encompassing, treating pressing telephone calls and memes about Paddington the Bear as in the event that they had been of equal significance — which, sadly, they aren’t.

So, after I acquired the March 2025 Pixel Replace on my Pixel 9 Professional — an replace you’ll have to even attempt Google’s new semi-silent mode — the pop-up suggesting I attempt the Notification Cooldown was nearly as thrilling to me as the flexibility to generate folks in Pixel Studio. In fact, I didn’t know precisely what the Notification Cooldown was at first, however Google had a reasonably easy method of explaining it. Basically, in case your telephone is about to ring (or chime), the extra notifications that come by means of earlier than you verify it, the quieter Google will make the tone for as much as two minutes.

At a look it sounds nice, but additionally possibly a bit complicated, so I opted in all the identical to see what would occur. It seems that the Notification Cooldown works just about as I anticipated — it doesn’t bounce proper from full quantity to mute however as an alternative works its method down because the notifications preserve coming in and mechanically sends the incoming notification pop-ups to the bar throughout the highest of your display screen. Then, after about two minutes, the quantity will bounce proper again as much as the place you set it, solely to work its method again down as wanted.

There are, nevertheless, a few limitations in place to maintain Google’s Notification Cooldown from knocking out all communications to your Pixel — even when it’s just for two minutes at a time. For starters, it doesn’t cowl incoming telephone calls, nor does it knock out conversations deemed to be high-priority, each of which I’d name fairly cheap limits. A number of different components of the Notification Cooldown make barely much less sense, nevertheless, such as you by no means actually know the restrict for notifications, nor are you able to prolong the cooldown past two minutes. So, in case you’re like me and some of your group chats are likely to pop off in 45-minute bursts, your telephone would possibly sound like a little bit of a rollercoaster going up and down.

All the identical, I like that Google is giving me simpler methods to flee the memes and plans with out silencing my buddies for hours at a time.

Should you’ve up to date your Pixel to the newest March 2025 patch — which, once more, you’ll want for the Notification Cooldown — and dismissed the automated pop-up too rapidly, worry not. It couldn’t be simpler to search out and activate the setting to present your self the shortest of breaks from essentially the most lively of group chats. Right here’s the place to search out your new notification-based greatest pal:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Swipe all the way down to Notifications and faucet on the menu
3. Discover the Common part and faucet Notification Cooldown
4. Flip the toggle on or off to present Google management over your notification quantity

And that’s about it. Simply keep in mind that there’s no simple technique to see what number of notifications you want earlier than Google knocks down your quantity, neither is there a technique to bump the timer past two minutes, so there’s each likelihood that you simply discover the Notification Cooldown doesn’t go far sufficient. If that’s the case, you’ll be able to all the time return to the tried and true technique of muting every group chat individually — it’s extra effort however barely simpler to manage.